Churchill County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

17,457

100.00%

23,535

100.00%

In Poverty

1,920

11.00%

2,041

8.67%

Not in Poverty

15,537

89.00%

21,494

91.33%

11 Years and Under

3,344

19.16%

4,597

19.53%

In Poverty

411

2.35%

508

2.16%

Not in Poverty

2,933

16.80%

4,089

17.37%

12 to 17 Years

1,690

9.68%

2,275

9.67%

In Poverty

132

0.76%

234

0.99%

Not in Poverty

1,558

8.92%

2,041

8.67%

18 to 64 Years

10,227

58.58%

13,880

58.98%

In Poverty

970

5.56%

1,103

4.69%

Not in Poverty

9,257

53.03%

12,777

54.29%

65 Years and Above

2,196

12.58%

2,783

11.82%

In Poverty

407

2.33%

196

0.83%

Not in Poverty

1,789

10.25%

2,587

10.99%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.